These are some of the strangest nature-inspired products we’ve ever seen

Giant bird's nest

Just what's been missing in the world: a bird's nest for people! This giant nest comes filled with pillowy eggs and can be ordered in multiple sizes to accommodate several people. It's just a great place to perch for a while (and that's no eggsaggeration).

2 / 10

Leafy t-shirts

If you need to hide in a leaf-pile or evade the Sheriff of Nottingham, these are the t-shirts for you—you'll definitely be tougher to spot as you wander through the forest. However, we can't guarantee they'll serve you as well if you decide to leave the woods and grab some dinner.

3 / 10

Picnyc table

We can't decide if this is a good idea or not—it would definitely be great for absorbing spills. On the other hand, avoiding eating off the ground is basically the reason furniture was invented.

4 / 10

Grassy sandals

This shoe company claims to offer the sensation of walking barefoot on grass, but is it worth the strange looks you'll get when you kick off your sandals? Also, how realistic can synthetic grass really be? Buy a pair and let us know.

5 / 10

Tree-bark chair

The Belgian-based design firm Draw Me A Sheep has created furniture covered with tree bark, and while it looks very cool, we have to wonder: Is that a surface that makes you want to curl up and read a book?

6 / 10

Rock phone case

Now here's a phone case you'll never fit in your pocket. On the other hand, if you drop it on the ground the odds of anyone picking it up are pretty low, so there may actually be some benefits to making your electronics look like a big rock.

7 / 10

Insect-inspired fashion

There's only one word (three times) for this silverfish-inspired dress: Why? Why? Why?

8 / 10

Banana-peel chair

Sure, bananas are soft and squishy, but does mean we should sit on them? This browning-banana-peel chair answers that question for us.

9 / 10

Grass bed

It seems like there's a rule of thumb for designers who want to go green: put some grass on it. But this bed brings up some issues we've never thought about at bedtime before—like how do you keep ants out of your sheets?

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These are some of the strangest nature-inspired products we’ve ever seen

Nature inspires us in many ways. It can jump-start our creative impulses, encourage us to be healthy, and remind us to remain responsible to our environment. Some entrepreneurs even bring that inspiration to their designs, taking elements of the natural world, and turning them into products. However, sometimes designers get a little overzealous, and the results can be…pretty …

Nature inspires us in many ways. It can jump-start our creative impulses, encourage us to be healthy, and remind us to remain responsible to our environment. Some entrepreneurs even bring that inspiration to their designs, taking elements of the natural world, and turning them into products. However, sometimes designers get a little overzealous, and the results can be…pretty strange. For example, while a bird’s nest seems perfectly normal on a tree branch, it looks a little odd in your living room—especially when it contains a full-grown human playing on an iPad.

The designers of the following products have taken leaps of faith, gambling on the hope that if something works well in nature, it will also work well as, say, an item of clothing. Or a chair. Or a bed. And these gambles, while brave, have not all paid off.

Still, thanks to crowdfunding sites, and the Internet’s general encouragement of all kinds of creativity, odd ideas can get a lot further these days than they once did. Many products that might never have made it past the planning stage are actually available to buy. The following products are the result of human ingenuity under the influence of nature, and as you’ll see, the natural world can look pretty strange when you’re wearing it, or sitting on it, or sleeping in it.

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